Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

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shivan128

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Welcome to the Japanese niche games deals and discussion thread!  Feel free to talk about local and import Japanese games here.  Our goal is to maintain a thread dedicated to active deals on niche games including RPGs, Visual Novels (VN), Shoot'em ups (Shmups), Musou, etc.  Also maintained are pre-orders for standard, limited and collector's edition games with key release dates provided.

I've wikified the thread to make it more friendly and open to others that can actively update with important information. You can find the wiki post directly below this one.

NOTE:  Please, leave the censorship discussion away from this thread.  It's common for japanese games to have questionable content outside of the country.  We want to keep discussions to the game itself and not about cultural/societal tolerance.

A message from Thorbahn:

Our CAG Japanese Niche Games Thread also has a community on PS4, where you can interact and game with other members of the thread.

Our moderators are: Draekon, Las_Hole, and Waffleswanton

You can basically friend any of our members, or any moderator, and you will be able to request to join the community under "Communities friends are in" tab, and a mod will approve your request.

You can also leave your PSN ID in the thread, saying you want to join, and we can invite you directly as well.

As always, have fun and enjoy your stay!

 
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Hey, I need some advice about old Final Fantasy games. Because I’m apparently a masochist, I’m thinking of taking another stab at Final Fantasy II in the foreseeable future. I’m just gonna be emulating it because I feel like emulation tricks like fast forwarding and save states might make it slightly more tolerable, and I already own like three copies of it on PSX, mobile, and PSN, so I’m not gonna be too broken up about downloading a ROM here, meaning any version is theoretically on the table.

After a lot of research, I’m still kinda torn between the PSX version for the general look of the game, the CD-quality soundtrack, and closer to the original style of gameplay; and the GBA version for the still quite attractive aesthetic, the quality of life streamlining, and the post-game content. I was wondering if anyone here had strong opinions between the two versions? Or even if you have a strong preference for one of the other versions and why.

And don’t tell me not to play it, and DON’T tell me to play FFIV instead, please. I’ve seen those jokes too many times while doing the research.
 
Edit: Thought you meant FF4. Edited for FF2.

PSP is likely the best version. PS version is kind of a bit antiquated now, and the load times aren't amazing, but it's OK for playing the game. Never tried the GBA version, but I'm sure the sound isn't as good, though the content makes up for it. Also you are a masochist  :razz: .

 
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Souffrir said:
Hey, I need some advice about old Final Fantasy games. Because I’m apparently a masochist, I’m thinking of taking another stab at Final Fantasy II in the foreseeable future. I’m just gonna be emulating it because I feel like emulation tricks like fast forwarding and save states might make it slightly more tolerable, and I already own like three copies of it on PSX, mobile, and PSN, so I’m not gonna be too broken up about downloading a ROM here, meaning any version is theoretically on the table.

After a lot of research, I’m still kinda torn between the PSX version for the general look of the game, the CD-quality soundtrack, and closer to the original style of gameplay; and the GBA version for the still quite attractive aesthetic, the quality of life streamlining, and the post-game content. I was wondering if anyone here had strong opinions between the two versions? Or even if you have a strong preference for one of the other versions and why.

And don’t tell me not to play it, and DON’T tell me to play FFIV instead, please. I’ve seen those jokes too many times while doing the research.
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So to be clear, you're talking about Final Fantasy II, as in the one that originally released on the Famicom and didn't get localized in the west until FF Origins, correct?

If so, I would recommend either the GBA version or the one for PSP. Both of them have the added post game content that is pretty good, but it's a matter of which aesthetic you prefer. I like the PSP sprites, but I understand that a lot of people don't. They both also allow you to save anywhere if I remember correctly, whereas as PSX you could only make a temp save anywhere that went away if you turned off the game (I could be misremembering the save thing entirely, it's been years since I've played either version). I hope that helps.

 
nitrosmob said:
Edit: Thought you meant FF4. Edited for FF2.

PSP is likely the best version. PS version is kind of a bit antiquated now, and the load times aren't amazing, but it's OK for playing the game. Never tried the GBA version, but I'm sure the sound isn't as good, though the content makes up for it. Also you are a masochist :razz: .
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Music wise it makes a bit of a difference playing the gba titles with head phones and or on the ds lite and such due to better speakers. Not sure about the gba player on a tv or the retro all in one consoles that have gba ports.

Different topic but personally for ff4 I still prefer the snes version over the psp one. The overbalancing for the final boss made it a grind fest I wasn't interested in doing. As I would have needed to grind for 10 or so levels to meet the rec for it which would take hours. They also took away some of the equipment edge could throw for no reason (I liked to save outdated swords just for that type of thing as I did in the original) and nerfed Rosa and Rydias archery as they were viable physical attackers in the original. Without even factoring in the petrify arrows, charm arrows and such they could inflict useful status ailments with.

 
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nitrosmob said:
Edit: Thought you meant FF4. Edited for FF2.

PSP is likely the best version. PS version is kind of a bit antiquated now, and the load times aren't amazing, but it's OK for playing the game. Never tried the GBA version, but I'm sure the sound isn't as good, though the content makes up for it. Also you are a masochist :razz: .
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The PSP version is mostly similar to the GBA version, though with substantially uglier graphics—I really don’t care for the direction Squenix went with their SD sprites in the late 00s and since. It adds more post-game content, but that sounds less interesting than the post-game content added in the GBA version (which, to be fair, is still present in the PSP version). The font looks really out of place, being a Times derivative.

Don’t get me wrong, it definitely has the most content, and aside from that and the graphics, there’s really nothing very significant in terms of changes between it and the GBA version, but it’s just hard for me to look past the sprite aesthetic. I’ve tried, the mobile version I own is essentially a direct port of the PSP version.

The PSX version serves as the basis for the GBA version, and by extension the PSP version, so there’s really not much of a gap between it and later versions as far as how dated each feels. I honestly feel like it’s the best looking version, as well, with the highest resolution (except maybe the PSP version? I’m having a hard time finding specific numbers, but the PSX was certainly capable of outputting in 480i, while the PSP’s resolution is 272p), more attracitve sprites (imo), and some really quite lovely backgrounds. It also has certain advantages over later versions beyond what I’ve already mentioned, including a slightly tweaked “normal” mode which mostly conforms with the original difficulty, and keeping the same mechanics as the original in terms of increasing stats, for better or worse—later versions would make some tweaks streamlining it. It also includes an extras mode, which features a bestiary, art gallery, and item collection; all but the bestiary were pruned from later releases. The save anywhere feature from later releases is certainly a major advantage, but like I said earlier, I’m emulating, so I’ll have access to save states regardless.

I feel like I’m just chasing myself in circles.
 
Souffrir said:
like I said earlier, I’m emulating, so I’ll have access to save states regardless.

I feel like I’m just chasing myself in circles.
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Seems like the easiest option is try them each out for 10min each and see which one you like the best. For myself, I would just go back to the GBA version for the fast load times. It won't be the highest def version but it'll be closer to the original Famicom version but with some improvements.

Of course part of this depends on what platform you are going to emulate from. If you were planning to throw this on an NES classic, I'd go with the fan translation patched famicom version for the authentic original experience. But you can just try them all and see what you like the most.

 
Sakura Wars comes out at the end of the month, do we have any idea if this will be a low production run that sells out fast, drops to 40, or drops to 20? I’m tempted to pick it up on release, but I know I’m not going to play it anytime soon.
 
I think NISA/Pqube/Xseed/Iffy maybe...likely lower runs. Atlus/Sega somewhere in the middle but maybe not crazy low production. S-E (not really niche) high production run.  Honestly I think most of the games will come back in stock for a while at least. I'm feeling like we'll likely have plateau prices for the games around $30-35ish similar to the recent Atelier game before vanishing from stock. I'm going to support Sakura Wars though as it's been ages since the last game. Also Trials of Mana because it's a remake of one of my favorite SNES RPGs at the time. Most games not of the higher production seem to get a clearance or two and that's it. Who knows honestly. For Sakura Wars especially I'm guessing it will reach the $20-$25 mark eventually with enough copies out there.

 
It definitely seems like most of the ol reliable series besides tales of and persona are not dropping to dirt cheap or going past 30.  you used to be able to set your watch to atelier going to 20 or less.  Of course since the series went sub only I imagine they drastically cut production numbers and sales.  Outside of ryza possibly and maybe arland 4.

 
nitrosmob said:
I think NISA/Pqube/Xseed/Iffy maybe...likely lower runs. Atlus/Sega somewhere in the middle but maybe not crazy low production. S-E (not really niche) high production run. Honestly I think most of the games will come back in stock for a while at least. I'm feeling like we'll likely have plateau prices for the games around $30-35ish similar to the recent Atelier game before vanishing from stock. I'm going to support Sakura Wars though as it's been ages since the last game. Also Trials of Mana because it's a remake of one of my favorite SNES RPGs at the time. Most games not of the higher production seem to get a clearance or two and that's it. Who knows honestly. For Sakura Wars especially I'm guessing it will reach the $20-$25 mark eventually with enough copies out there.
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Yeah. I tend to agree we may see a nice reprint of many PS4 titles this year, especially since it sounds like Sony isn't going to have much in the way of a PS5 launch, and will need to rely heavily on PS4 sales to support revenue streams through the ongoing crisis.

With consumers probably not big on spending $50-60+ on games and $500 on consoles, a lot of publishers will see it as an opportunity to capitalize on printing collections and reprinting older titles at reduced MSRP to gain some extra sales. I can see Sony pushing an extensive new set of Greatest Hits, and others like Square publishing sets like the Tomb Raider trilogy, or Capcom selling an RE2-3 collection.

Good way to bank on sales with a likely sub-$200 (may be even as low as $179) PS4 console.

 
nitrosmob said:
I think NISA/Pqube/Xseed/Iffy maybe...likely lower runs. Atlus/Sega somewhere in the middle but maybe not crazy low production. S-E (not really niche) high production run. Honestly I think most of the games will come back in stock for a while at least. I'm feeling like we'll likely have plateau prices for the games around $30-35ish similar to the recent Atelier game before vanishing from stock. I'm going to support Sakura Wars though as it's been ages since the last game. Also Trials of Mana because it's a remake of one of my favorite SNES RPGs at the time. Most games not of the higher production seem to get a clearance or two and that's it. Who knows honestly. For Sakura Wars especially I'm guessing it will reach the $20-$25 mark eventually with enough copies out there.
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Yeah, these are the exact studios I'd keep an eye on. With the PS5 on the horizon and disc plants operating at limited capacity due to COVID-19 I'm not so sure that they will end up getting reprints. Plus these are all smaller publishers so I try to support them with pre-orders. when I can.

 
https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1252593122720182273

Robotic; Notes will be getting a double pack release

 
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I also have my eye on Sakura Wars, but know I'm not going to play it day one. I'm going to bank on an eventual price drop and see what happens. A guy can only handle so many day 1 purchases at once.

 
cloudmd23 said:
I also have my eye on Sakura Wars, but know I'm not going to play it day one. I'm going to bank on an eventual price drop and see what happens. A guy can only handle so many day 1 purchases at once.
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Agreed. If I didn't already had them paid off (BB usually pay for my games on order) I would likely get 1 or 2. Can't be too careful in these strange times. Robotics;Notes dual pack is nice and an extremely high want. Once it's on BB I'll pre-order it. Spike Chunsoft (forgot to mention them in the last post) have been more about the middle for production too. Their last games were overproduced or just undersold in general as for BF most of their releases of the year went 50% off or more, so that's something to be aware of. I wish I would have waited on Crystar for example.

 
Wished I got Crystar when it was $30 because now it gone back up to full price.  Glad I got AI: The Somnium Files PS4 as that game is sold out.

 
Finally Disaster Report 4 (Switch) showed up today.  Took the free shipping option on Amazon which saved me money but put a multi-week lag in actually getting it.  Also it got bundled with my Yakuza Collection... so hopefully it ended up in a box.  I'm not home, had to send one of my kids out to pick it up.

Edit, just checked, it was a padded bag type packaging... will see how it fared when I get home.

 
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81yseTy40TL._SL1500_.jpg
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There is nice day 1 bonus​
 
62t said:
Wished I got Crystar when it was $30 because now it gone back up to full price. Glad I got AI: The Somnium Files PS4 as that game is sold out.
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Yeah Crystar seems to be sold out/unavailable everywhere around me, and ebay prices are pretty high. Don’t know if it had a low print run or what but I managed to grab a copy for $50 last month. Would have been nice to get it for $30!
 
Another day of boredom, so decided to start up another project.

A homage to Vita and Switch of course, or as close as I could get it.

I mean, just look at that last pic, it's almost identical! *smirk*

IjvHStJ.jpg


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3BW2oJO.jpg


MVgqGky.jpg


 
Squarehard, good job.  First thing that jumped out was the plush slime.  I imported a 1:1 vinyl slime about the same size for my desk at home... love that thing.

slimeDQ-1038x576.jpg


 
nightc1 said:
Squarehard, good job. First thing that jumped out was the plush slime. I imported a 1:1 vinyl slime about the same size for my desk at home... love that thing.

slimeDQ-1038x576.jpg
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That particular one is the one from the DQ VI pre-order from Gamestop all those years ago.

Always makes me feel nostalgic. XD

 
Starcrest said:
Sakura Wars comes out at the end of the month, do we have any idea if this will be a low production run that sells out fast, drops to 40, or drops to 20? I’m tempted to pick it up on release, but I know I’m not going to play it anytime soon.
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I'm leaning towards a fairly low print run, at least initially. Another recent Sega released title - Two Point Hospital (Switch version) - has been very hard to find new recently, and that started just after release.

Actually, it appears Sakura Wars is already sold out for shipping at Best Buy (though in store orders are still being taken). Usually only CEs sell out this far away from release date at BB.

 
Sorry to derail the discussion again, but re:FF2, after a lot more thinking and poking around on Google, I’ve decided to go with the GBA version with a rebalancing patch I found. It’s designed to bring the mechanics more in line with the original, albeit with some alterations to better balance stat gains—e.g., reducing the grind necessary for limited resource actions, like casting spells, compared to infinite resource actions, like attacking. Seems like it could be the best of both worlds, though I wish I could find a hack that adds the Origins music files in. Guess you can’t have everything.
 
Souffrir said:
Sorry to derail the discussion again, but re:FF2, after a lot more thinking and poking around on Google, I’ve decided to go with the GBA version with a rebalancing patch I found. It’s designed to bring the mechanics more in line with the original, albeit with some alterations to better balance stat gains—e.g., reducing the grind necessary for limited resource actions, like casting spells, compared to infinite resource actions, like attacking. Seems like it could be the best of both worlds, though I wish I could find a hack that adds the Origins music files in. Guess you can’t have everything.
Click to expand...
Enjoy! Honestly, the only thing I don't like about that game is the grind for things like spells. I was perfectly fine with everything else, especially considering when it originally came out.

 
Was pretty happy yesterday with my package from Amazon.  No damage to my Yakuza Collection and Disaster Report 4 (Switch) was unmarred as well.  The bubble envelope was a bit oversized but it was big bubbles and not the tiny ones that barely protect anything.

 
Made it through the escort mission map in underwater ray romano.  I was surprised as it wasn't horrible.  As my experience with escort missions is that they are usually horrible.  Atuy is a beast.  I only have one single complaint with her is that she's basically an archer and can only attack/counter 2 spaces away so far.  Other than that she's a monster and really meshes with what they were trying to have her be in the show.

 
Starcrest said:
Sakura Wars comes out at the end of the month, do we have any idea if this will be a low production run that sells out fast, drops to 40, or drops to 20? I’m tempted to pick it up on release, but I know I’m not going to play it anytime soon.
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I expect it like Valkyria Revolution for the XB1. It'll be in stock, have a steep price drop somewhere a few months in, then go out of print except for 3rd parties.

nitrosmob said:
I think NISA/Pqube/Xseed/Iffy maybe...likely lower runs.
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I have never seen an Iffy game go out of stock until years later. They still have LEs of their old releases selling on their online store...

For all of these niche games, there's always a curve, a point where it'll get the lowest it'll ever go and then after that it become scarce.

 
Just a heads up that Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 is currently free on PS4 / Xbox One / PC until May 10th

https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS/status/1253670161124454402

 
After some prodding from Twitter, decided to try my hand at updating my collection with video for the first time.

https://twitter.com/Squarehard/status/1253902820123664384

 
artego said:
I have never seen an Iffy game go out of stock until years later. They still have LEs of their old releases selling on their online store...
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There are exceptions to this. For instance Four Goddesses Online Collectors Edition sold out a little bit after launch.

 
My Best Buy Sakura Wars officially shipping delayed. First game to have that of my orders. Guessing they oversold that or other things.

 
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nitrosmob said:
My Best Buy Sakura Wars officially shipping delayed. First game to have that of my orders. Guessing they oversold that or other things.
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Speaking of SW, it’s back in stock at BB for shipping, though it’ll arrive Friday not tomorrow.
 
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